The US FDA has confirmed asbestos-contaminated talc presence in Marie Claire’s products in its two statements this year. These products include Claire’s particular eye shadow, face powder, and blush kit.
The United States Food and Drug Administration published a detailed statement on March 5th of this year regarding the hazardous contamination of asbestos fibers particularly talc-based consumer products that may pose a public health risk.
In this statement, the US FDA pointed out three of Marie Claire’s recalled cosmetic products due to the presence of asbestos. Later on June 6th, 2019, the FDA updated on this matter and issued a continued statement. In the recent report, the FDA added another Marie Claire’s product as well as one product from the Beauty Plus cosmetic brand.
Marie Claire’s Products Tested Positive for Asbestos in 2017
The 2019 incident is not the first time that Marie Claire’s products have tested positive for the presence of toxins. The FDA criticized the brand in 2017 for the first time when they reported the contamination of asbestos in its three products.
In December 2017, Scientific Analytical Institute- SAI, a private lab in North Carolina tested 17 products from 9 different outlets of Marie Claire’s across various states of the US (including Seattle, New York, Chicago, Greensboro, Milwaukee, Providence, and Indianapolis). These products included compact powder, eye shadow, and blush kit. The report states that:
“All tested positive at alarming rates.”
After this chaotic situation, Claire’s cleared the objected products from the market. But the company denied the presence of any toxic material in the products in its official statement saying,
“All our powder-based cosmetics use the same base formulation, utilizing Merck certified asbestos-free talc, which is the same talc used in other well-known cosmetic brands.”
Moreover, the brand refused the laboratory reports along with the testing methods as well.
Correctly quoting, Mr. Fitzgerald, the director of research and analytical services at SAI, Claire’s said in its public statement,
“We dispute the findings and testing methods of Sean Fitzgerald, the Director of Research and Analytical Services for Scientific Analytical Institute (SAI), which was asked to do the testing by a personal injury law firm. We only learned of the claims after they went to the press, We have made multiple requests for Mr. Fitzgerald’s detailed test data, but it has not been provided to us. Mr. Fitzgerald also went to the press in July with claims that testing of cosmetics from Justice showed evidence of asbestos, which Justice refuted after analysis of a third-party ISO-certified testing lab.”
And the Saga Between the FDA and Claire’s Continued
For two years, both the US FDA and Marie Claire’s considering this matter. Previously, the tests were conducted by the independent, privately working institute, so the FDA decided to handle the issue itself scientifically. In the first press release this year, the FDA says,
“Because the 2017 testing was done by third-party laboratories, the agency believed it was important to scientifically confirm that these reports were accurate.”
And
“The FDA began the process of conducting independent tests to determine if some of these products did, in fact, contain asbestos. In late February of this year, we received the results of this testing initiative.”
Claire’s Makeup Kits Containing Asbestos
As per the analytical test results of the makeup products released by the FDA on March 5th, 2019, the FDA warned consumers to avoid using the following products of Marie Clair:
- Claire’s Eye Shadows – Batch No/Lot No: 08/17
- Claire’s Compact Powder – Batch No/Lot No: 07/15
- Claire’s Contour Palette – Batch No/Lot No: 04/17
All of these products were reported to contain a threatening amount of asbestos-containing talc. The FDA statement said,
“The FDA requested that Claire’s recall the products because they should not be used by consumers. Claire’s has refused to comply with the FDA’s request, and the agency does not have the authority to mandate a recall. The FDA is, therefore, warning consumers not to use these products and will continue to communicate our safety concerns about them.”
In its statement issued on March 11, 2019, Clair’s recalled these products saying,
“Out of an abundance of caution, today Claire’s Stores, Inc., announced a voluntary recall of three cosmetic products: Claire’s Eye Shadows, Claire’s Compact Powder and Claire’s Contour Palette. We initiated this voluntary recall after testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicated the possible presence of asbestos fibers in product samples from one lot of each product. Inhalation of asbestos over time has been linked to serious adverse health consequences.”
The US FDA updated on this matter by releasing another statement on June 6th, 2019. In this statement, the FDA warned the customers about two more cosmetic products, one by Marie Clair, and the other by another beauty brand Beauty Plus. Investigators found a threatening amount of asbestos in both of these products. The details of these products are as follows,
- Beauty Plus Global Contour Effects Palette 2, Batch No. S1603002/PD-C1179
- Claire’s Jojo Siwa Makeup Set, SKU #888711136337, Batch/Lot No. S180109
Both companies have recalled their products from the market. On May 30, 2019, Clair’s issued a statement regarding this product saying,
Claire’s Stores, Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall of the following cosmetic product, which is no longer available in stores but may still be in the homes of consumers
- Jojo Cosmetic Kit, UPC 888711136337, SKU #13633, Lot No. S180109″
And the company ensured its full cooperation with the US FDA,
“Claire’s initiated this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution after testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicated the possible presence of trace amounts of asbestos fibers in the powder eyeshadow element of the product. Claire’s continues to have confidence in the safety and composition of its products.”
The US FDA is expected to announce new results on additional cosmetic products.
